• direction of causality is unclear
  • harder to research economics compared to placebos etc.
  • certain moments highlighted as clear examples
    • gold discoveries of 1897/1914
    • during/after WWI and WWII
• “self fulfilling prophecy”
  • sunspots → extraneous noise believed to cause impact
• contagious stories
  • fisher “permanently high plateau”
• stories in driving human activity
  • thinking of economy as “sick” or “healthy”
    • progress of an economy is not “one-dimensional” or one-sided
• flashbulb memory
  • especially poignant long term memory moments
    • i.e. pearl harbor, 9/11
  • 9/11 actually improved economy, economists dismissed flashbulb quality at the time
    • call to action from president bush addressed at “helping” nation
• fake news
  • brain processes for “reality monitoring” are imperfect
  • kayfabe in wrestling → people enjoy believing in a story and don’t care about facts
  • fakery causes economic outcomes, not in reverse